How many times have you heard yourself say, if I was more confident, less of an introvert, more experienced..blah blah blah then I would be leading creative workshops and a more successful creative entrepreneur?

As a pretty introverted and timid kid, growing up I believed that confidence Was something people were born with. Now I know that its not something we just have, its something we create. Here I am sharing my three tips for portraying confidence as a creative workshop leader.

Ever sit down to finally outline your creative workshop idea only to end up staring at blank page for hours, feeling frustrated because you just don’t know where to start? Then this blog post is for you, I am going to walk you through my 4 step process to outline an ah-may-zing and of course impactful & profitable workshop.

Plus I’ve created a free worksheet for you too, to make it as easy and fun as possible.

As a newbie workshop leader I know you’re probably wondering what ‘should I be doing?’ or ‘am I doing this right?’ or ‘what’s more important this or that?’.... You dont know what you don’t know right!? I’ve been through the years of trial and error and know what works and what doesn’t as well as what is important and what isn’t so important, so I have put together a list of the main do’s and dont’s when it comes to leading a successful creative workshop.

Unfortunately, just because you are really good at your craft it doesn’t mean you will necessarily be really good at teaching it others, but just like you honed your skills to learn your craft you can totally do the same with learning to lead creative workshops. In this blog post I am sharing my CRAAFT Formula for leading creative workshops. In the 10+ years that I have been leading workshops and mentoring others with leading theirs I have realised that there are always 6 key areas that need to be developed and planned for.

I have been leading creative workshops online and ‘in real life’ for a little over ten years now, I have made all the mistakes and experienced all the nerves, but no matter what goes wrong it’s always such an amazing experience, being able to share my knowledge with others in such an intimate and creative setting is truly an honor, every time.

For those just thinking about leading creative workshops it can seem daunting (I promise it’s not anywhere as near as scary as it might seem!) so thought I would share the 6 main lessons I have learned along the way.

There is a lot that goes into planning a workshop and its not just about the topic that you will be teaching.

When you’re first starting out it feels like there is literally 543.975,000 things to think about and you’re sure there other things to plan for that you don’t even know about yet!

If you don’t want to wing it and you want to be as organised as possible then you need to get your hands on my ultimate 30 point checklist, it covers everything you need to think about and plan for from, pre-workshop planning, the day of the workshop, during the workshop and after the workshop.

There is more to running a creative workshop than teaching your craft. As creatives we often turn a blind eye to the admin type tasks that need to be done, because they’re just not as much fun to do as making demo materials and pretty handouts!

But if you want your workshop and future workshops to be successful and high level for your participants then there are 3 handouts I recommend you create to support you and give you an extra layer of confidence.

Worrying that people won’t buy or show up to your workshop is common and actually very valid fear. But here’s the thing, too many people think that whether people will show up or not must remain a big mystery until the day of the workshop, it doesn’t. You do not have to guess if there is a market for your workshop topic and you definitely shouldn’t.

Validating your workshop topic idea before you get too deep into the planning stages means that you wont be wasting valuable time, energy and money on creating a workshop that no-one wants to buy tickets to.

There are lots of moving parts to a successful creative workshop but it can be really hard to plan them out if you aren’t even sure what they are. So I have put together a list of the 7 phases every creative workshop needs, everything you need to do and when you need to do it, for a smooth running and super successful event.

"What if no-one shows up to my workshop?". I hear this all the time and the fear is real and so is the possibility of no shows if you don't actively work to prevent it. Here are 3 little tricks you can implement to greatly reduce the of being the only attendee at your workshop.

Stop wasting time dreaming of, journaling about and manifesting your creative workshop and start making it a reality right now. I’ve created this free 10 step guide to give you a clear road map of everything you need to do and when you need to do it when comes to successful creative workshops.

So many people really over-complicate this step of outlining a workshop or they just wing it! But winging it and not having a clear structure to follow just leaves you feeling completely lost and overwhelmed. When you get down to the bare bones of a workshop there are really only 3 key elements that need to be planned. Get clear on these and you’ll have a workshop that makes learning your topic easy and enjoyable for your students.

There is something magical about passing on your knowledge to another human being, especially with art and creativity. Watching as they take what you have taught them and make it their own. Its a special thing to be part of that moment where something that didn’t exist before, now does. To know that you and your skills have played a part in bringing someone else’s ideas and creation to life. There is something humbling in the teaching process when inevitably you learn something from your students.

I’ve heard all the excuses and made all the excuses, but the truth is, if you truly want to lead creative workshops and share your passion and your message with others, you can. I know it’s not easy to just decide, I know you’re brain wants to keep you safe and I know you believe that there reasons you might not be able to lead workshops, even if you dream of being able to. It’s time to bust 3 of the biggest myths of all.

Did you know that workshops are 90% preparation and 10% presentation? So there is a lot of planning that needs to happen, but what exactly do you need to plan for? After leading countless creative workshops I’ve come up with my top 10 secret list to take the guesswork out of planning and raise your workshops to the next level.